Former first-round pick Cameron Payne to play in China

Free agent point guard Cameron Payne is signing with the Shanxi Loongs of the Chinese Basketball Association, a source tells Nicola Lupo of Sportando.

Payne, a former first-round pick, has appeared in 153 total regular-season contests for the Thunder, Bulls and Cavaliers since the start of the 2015-16 season, but he was unable to secure a regular-season roster spot this fall. He was waived by the Raptors at the end of the preseason, after he was beaten out by Malcolm Miller for the team’s final roster spot.

In those 153 career NBA games, Payne has averaged 6.0 PPG, 2.5 APG and 1.8 RPG with a sub par .397/.331/.775 shooting line.

As Lupo explains, the 25-year-old will join a Shanxi roster that already features two import players in Jamaal Franklin and Eric Moreland. CBA rules dictate that clubs are permitted to carry up to four foreign players, but only two of them can be on a team’s active roster for a given game.